Why it works: Flour and sorghum share more aroma than cooks usually use. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 99 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Sorghum Cake
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point. The book gives no cooking times either; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Prepare
Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C).
Make the batter
In a large bowl, cream together the butter (or lard) and sorghum syrup.
Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and spices.
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, stirring until just combined.
Bake
Pour the batter into a greased cake pan and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
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Flour + sorghumtop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together99 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + syruptop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,540 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Sorghum + syruptop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together26 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Flour and butter barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- All-purpose flour
- Provides the structure that holds the cake together as it bakes.
- Butter or lard
- Adds fat for a tender crumb and rich flavor.
- Sorghum syrup
- Adds sweetness, moisture, and its distinctive molasses-like flavor.
- Eggs
- Bind the batter and add structure and richness as they set.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the batter's acidity to produce gas that helps the cake rise.
The step that matters
Stirring the dry ingredients into the wet mixture. Overmixing once flour meets liquid develops gluten, which can make the cake tough and dense. Stir only until just combined.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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